In the corporate world, the International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL) has become the benchmark for a number of international organizations. In some countries it is even common to see in job advertisements that all applicants must be ICDL-qualified. For example, Delta Corporation (Zimbabwe Breweries) encouraged all staff to sit for ICDL Tests including the executives of the organisation. A 35% increase in productivity was reported.   CABS, the largest Building Society in Zimbabwe adopted ICDL START certificate for all staff including executives. This improved staff morale as well as reducing the risk to their IT systems, in fact they managed to eliminate the need for their IT helpdesk altogether! Car manufacturer Toyota signed a contract with the ICDL Foundation to offer training to all staff throughout Africa. And in the development sector, the UNDP adopted ICDL in all of the 131 countries in which it operates.

Benefits to employers

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The ICDL has a reliable, quality-controlled testing methodology with a high pass mark. It can be used to measure the effectiveness of in-house training programmes, where the qualification “levels the playing field” amongst all your staff. If a number of your staff have passed the ICDL, you can prove to your customers that they are in safe hands, and of course improved computer skills lead to better productivity and a speedy return on investment.

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Benefits to individuals

The ICDL is a ‘fit for purpose’ qualification that is directly relevant to the world of work and further study; it is relatively inexpensive to obtain. There is a flexible, self-paced training and testing process. Individualsfind that their confidence using ICT increases, and they have better employment opportunities with an internationally valued certificate.